Nordea 1 - European High Yld Bd E EUR |



by Thomas De Fauw

The team behind Nordea 1 - European High Yield Bond remains topnotch despite recent turnover, and the fund’s process is well-constructed and repeatable. Morningstar has enhanced the way we assess alpha opportunity for funds, which is a key component in our Morningstar Medalist Rating calculation. More of this strategy's Medalist Ratings than usual may therefore change with this update even in the absence of changes to pillar ratings or fund costs. A team of four portfolio managers oversees this strategy. Sandro Näf and Torben Skødeberg have steered the fund since its 2002 inception, first as employees of Nordea and, starting in 2007, as founding partners of the credit boutique Capital Four, which now subadvises the fund. Mikkel Sckerl and René Kallestrup joined the management team in 2013 and 2012, respectively. The managers have gradually built a strong and sizable team dedicated to leveraged finance, including a team of 20 credit analysts. In January 2016, private investment company Northill acquired Capital Four on terms that we believe will preserve the group’s strong investment culture and help ensure team stability. The managers’ and investors’ interests are also aligned through the fact that the partners invested half of their deal proceeds in other funds they manage. Against this backdrop, it was surprising that at the end of September 2022 Laust Johnsen, who had been a portfolio manager on this strategy since 2019, suddenly left. The manager’s departure is significant and out of the norm for the firm but doesn’t leave a major hole to fill. We retain our confidence in the remaining highly experienced portfolio managers who continue to make decisions by consensus. The process, which focuses on bottom-up security selection based on fundamental, legal, and quantitative research, has produced a strong long-term track record. While the team’s market insights and strong credit selection skills have long been apparent, our conviction in the process was previously held in check by concerns that its portfolio risk analysis tools, particularly for liquidity analysis, did not seem to be in line with industry peers. These have improved in recent years, however, and we are further comforted by the strategy’s ability to navigate redemptions in March 2020’s market selloff without major difficulty. This strategy continues to earn its spot among our favorites in the peer group. |
Morningstar Pillars | |
People | High |
Parent | Above Average |
Process | Above Average |
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